As a hardcore gamer who
embraced the next-generation of consoles and games with open arms, I’m also
grateful to find the classics still available in some form or another whether
they’re downloaded online or packaged in a collection for consoles or a handheld
like the PSP or the Nintendo DS. For many this is a way to relive past favorites
and for others (like me) it’s a way to experience certain games we might have
missed the first time around when they were first released. With Atari, Capcom
and Midway having already released their classics, Konami Classics Series:
Arcade Hits gives us 15 of their classics for the Nintendo DS.
The lineup of titles found
in this package of arcade hits is recognizable to anyone who has spent many an
hour in a pizza parlor or their local arcade. Games like Rush ’N Attack,
Contra, Time Pilot and Gradius are just a small part of
Konami’s list of classics that lit up the arcades but also button-mashers like
Track & Field and the ever-so cute Circus Charlie. The collection
also includes two of Konami’s early fighting games like Yie Ar Kung Fu
and Shao-Lin’s Road as well as the 1981 classic Scramble and the
1982 Horror Maze. There’s also Roc ‘N Rope, the overly cute
Pooyan, Basketball, the awful racer Road Fighter and the
shooter Rainbowbell. There are enough titles here to fit everyone’s
tastes whether you like simplistic platform games or shooters and yes not every
hit here is gaming gold but there are more good ones here than duds.
The good news is that
these games fit right at home on the Nintendo DS and that means all of these
games control perfectly and fit the DS control scheme. The touch screen isn’t
utilized for very much aside from pausing the game or making key selections on
the main menu screen. That’s Ok, though, because all of these games were
easy-to-get-into back then and are easy-to-get-into now. This is great seeing as
games like Contra move from 2D side-scrolling shooter to 3D shooter
throughout the entire experience. Contra, for those who remember it
fondly, is still a hard shooter where you guide a Duke Nukem-like
character as he shoots through jungles and alien corridors. Another game that
feels perfect is Time Pilot, a sort of free-roaming aerial combat game
where you pilot a futuristic fighter jet going up against enemy pilots from
other time periods like 1940 Zeros.
It’s also good to see
Track & Field, a game that jams together a number of Olympic events such as
the 100 meter dash as well as well as pole vaulting just to name a few events.
On the arcade, it was all about how hard you mash on the blue and red button and
here it’s how fast you tap the A and Y button. The side-scrolling shooter
Gradius is also present and it remains to be one fun shooter. While dated,
Scramble, a game where you guide a space ship that fires missiles that
drop like bombs, is actually pretty fun. Then there’s the martial arts classics
Yie Ar Kung Fu, an early fighting game that pits you against a number of
foes one-at-a-time and Shao-Lin’s Road where you take on hordes of kung
fu fighting monks at once.
Then there’s the cute
Pooyan, a game where you control a mama pig (or at least I think it’s a pig)
fending off the wolves that attempt to reach their home to eat her children via
balloons. Mama’s only line of defense is a basket she rides as well as her
trusty arrows to pop the balloons. Much like Pooyan, Circus Charlie
is also a cute yet simplistic game where you guide a circus clown across a
trapeze while avoiding dangers such as monkeys and rings of fire. Horror Maze
has you controlling a treasure hunter as you attempt to navigate a maze
while avoiding enemies guarding the treasure. Horror Maze certainly
doesn’t hold a candle to Roc ‘N Rope, a game where you attempt to reach
the famed Bird of Fortune by climbing platforms using your trusty grappling
hook.
Unfortunately, the
collection also includes stinkers like Road Fighter, a sort of poor man’s
Spy Hunter as well as the shooter Rainbowbell (a really
poor man’s 1942). While my earliest and fondest memories where of the
magnificent Double Dribble, Basketball isn’t so bad at all.
Finally, there’s Rush ‘N Attack, a game that makes up for the inclusion
of both Road Fighter and Rainbowbell. In Rush ‘N Attack,
your character infiltrates an enemy base and takes on all the enemies alone
armed with nothing but a knife and whatever weapon the enemy just so happens to
drop.
Konami Classics Series
also allows a friend with another
cartridge to join you in games that allow co-op (like Contra) or play
against (like in Track & Field) you. The multiplayer runs smoothly enough
and the game even allows a friend to download a demo of any of the 15 games
available.
The games do look good
despite their age and, for the few games I remember fondly, they look just as
they did when they first came out. You’ll find all the usual visual goodies
found in each of the games and great visual effects from games like Contra
as well as Rush ‘N Attack (remember frying groups of enemies with the
blowtorch?). There’s a wealth of great music here as well and sound effects that
will bring back memories.
Surprisingly enough,
Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits is a nicely packaged collection of
classics that fits the Nintendo DS perfectly. With a collection that includes
hits like Contra, Roc n’ Rope and Yie Ar Kung-Fu (and one or two hits
that weren’t so good), this one packs in enough retro gaming goodness that’s
sure to please gamers of all ages. I definitely suggest you pick up this
collection if you’re interested in revisiting these classics or enjoying them
for the first time.
Review Scoring Details for
Konami
Classics Series: Arcade Hits
Gameplay: 8.0
These games fit the DS control
scheme nicely and games like Contra and Time Pilot play like a
dream. While it’s great to finally find Track & Field in a portable
format, it’s great to see games like Shao-Lin’s Road and Roc n’ Rope
again. Personally, we could have done without Road Fighter and
Rainbowbell.
Graphics: 7.0
The DS manages to capture the look
of each of these games and, for the most part, most of them still look pretty
good. Games like Track & Field and Rush ‘N Attack still look just
as I remember them. The menu screen could have looked a bit better.
Sound: 7.2
The music is actually charming and
memorable to the point that you won’t be reaching for the volume. You can even
listen to the tunes in the Archive menu screen. The sound effects for each game
aren’t bad either.
Difficulty: Medium
Contra
is still as tough as I remember it and Gradius gradually increases the
difficulty to the point that you’ll be glad you can add more lives to your game.
Well, it beats slamming quarter after quarter in a cabinet.
Concept: 8.0
For those of you, like me, who
haven’t played Pooyan or Horror Maze before, this collection will
give you a chance to experience them for the first time. The collection allows
friends to download demos of each game and you can even use two DS handhelds
(one can act like a controller while the other DS can act as the screen).
Multiplayer: 8.5
It’s all about co-op and the
collection does two-player wireless beautifully. You’ll be happy you can take a
buddy on in Track & Field or have a friend lend a helping hand in
Contra.
Overall: 8.2
Konami Classics Series: Arcade
Hits represents these classics well
on the Nintendo DS and you’ll find it hard to put this one down once you start
playing through the 15 games. While not every game in this collection are
brilliant, there are enough gems here to make this a package you should
seriously consider buying right away.
